The Bachelor of Environmental Practice (BEP) is a unique degree completion program that offers huge flexibility whilst at the same time being specifically tailored to meet the needs of future environmental professionals in Canada. Royal Roads’ close partnership with ECO Canada means that the core curriculum of the program is carefully aligned with the demands of the environmental labour force, and also has the flexibility to choose from a substantial suite of elective course to meet your personal interests and goals.
Crucially, and why such a degree is of immense value to a variety of career paths, is that the problems faced by the environment are simply not solvable by single-disciplinary perspectives. This makes BEP graduates highly employable in those sectors where skills that cut across traditional, narrow disciplinary boundaries are required.
In ECO Canada’s top trends for 2020, the top five key aptitudes for new environmental professionals as reported by the industry were:
- Industry knowledge
- Health and Safety
- Communication and Public Awareness
- Policy and Legislation
- Sustainability
In the core curriculum of the BEP, program instruction is provided by what we at Royal Roads call ‘scholar practitioners’ which means they are both fully informed of the latest research and developments in their fields, but also actively engaged in practice in the public or private sectors. They bring their deep industry knowledge directly into the classroom to enhance and inform the material provided to link learning to real-world solutions. The core curriculum includes courses in communication skills, public policy formulation and environmental law directly addressing many of those key skills sought after by employers.
The area of sustainability is one that is growing rapidly. As ECO Canada’s research shows, in 2016 18% of all Canadian organizations had at least one sustainability professional, and 46% of those that didn’t plan to hire one in the future. Sustainability officers require knowledge that connects environmental, social and economic understanding – and the BEP program is designed to do just that.
This flexibility and employability is reflected in the diverse positions our graduate have found themselves in as they advance their careers. BEP alumni can be found in roles such as Environmental Technician and Product Specialist, working in conservation and in environment and sustainability units in local governments. In addition, graduates meet the educational requirements for certification as an Environmental Professional® through ECO Canada. Some BEP graduates have gone on to higher degrees such as our Master’s in Environmental Practice at Royal Roads, and others.
Dr Christopher Ling
Program Head BA and BSc in Environmental Practice
School of Environment and Sustainability, Royal Roads University
